Richard "Dick" Bolton III

1944 - 2010

Richard Bolton III
May 19, 1944 - Nov. 27, 2010

Richard "Dick" Bolton III was born May 19, 1944, in Utica, New York, to Ruth Benton Bolton and Richard W. Bolton. A Michigan resident since 1967, Dick always maintained some roots in his beloved upstate New York and Vermont where he lived as a child through his college years.
Dick was a 1962 graduate of the Manlius School (now Manlius-Pebble Hill School), New York. He was a 1967 graduate of Syracuse University where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and completed a second major in advertising journalism. Dick graduated in 1972 from Central Michigan University (CMU) with a Master of Arts degree in journalism. He served in the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1971, earning the Vietnam Campaign Service ribbon.
Dick taught photojournalism, on a full- and part-time basis, at CMU from 1972 to the mid 1980s. He was editor of the Oil and Gas News, Michigan's weekly petroleum magazine from 1973 to 1981; partner in Cross County Communications and Exploration from 1981 to 1987; staff photographer for the Morning Sun from the late 1980s to the early 1990s; owner and operator of Salt River Woodworks during the 1990s and established a long-term relationship as a photographer and columnist for the Morning Sun from 1999 to 2010. Dick served on the Shepherd School Board and Shepherd School Improvement Team. he was on the Coe Township Planning Commission and Coe Township Zoning Board of Appeals.
Dick was a general outdoorsman who enjoyed camping, boating, fishing, and at times, hunting. He was a lifetime hiker who left boot prints in the mountains and valleys of Vermont, upstate New York and across lower Michigan. He was a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club, Green Mountain Club, and the North Country Trails. Dick was also an avid woodworker who particularly enjoyed the challenge of making hardwood furniture. A long-time member of the Central Michigan Area Concert Band, Dick played in the trumpet section, and for years, in town bands in Vermont while vacationing there in the summers.
Dick was intellectually curious and took delight in never knowing where the exploration of any given topic would take him. He very much wanted to see what was over the hill or around the next bend. Dick loved people in all their variety. He accumulated a legion of friends, acquaintances and correspondents over the years.
Dick is survived by his loving "wife, Sharon" of 42 years; daughter, Kathryn Curran and her husband, George Curran III of Atlanta, Georgia; sisters Elizabeth Bolton of Cape Vincent, New York, and Laura Scaringi of Snyder, New York; sister-in-law, Lynne Ratcliffe, of Atlanta, Georgia; brother-in-law, Woody Appleby and his wife, Adria of Davidson, North Carolina; and numerous cousins, a nephew and nieces.
In lieu of flowers, Dick requested that memorial contributions be made to the Central Michigan Area Community Band.
Memorial services will be Saturday, Dec. 4, at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in Mt. Pleasant with the Rev. Wayne Nicholson officiating.
There will be a gathering of friends and family on Friday, Dec. 3, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Berry Funeral Home in Shepherd.